Nazareth man sentenced for sending 'warm, cozy' texts to 12-year-old

Judge says Christopher M. Rothrock makes him 'afraid for the community' during sentencing.

December 07, 2012|By Pamela Lehman, Of The Morning Call

Calling him a danger to the community who showed no remorse, a Northampton County judge sent a Nazareth man to state prison Friday for sending inappropriate text messages to a 12-year-old girl, saying he wanted to make her feel "warm and cozy."

Christopher M. Rothrock, 46, who also possessed child pornography, was sentenced to 21 months to 7 years in prison by county Judge Stephen Baratta.

In handing down his sentence, Baratta said he would be "afraid for the community" unless Rothrock served time in state prison.

The girl's parents reported Rothrock to police in 2011. Police said they found 25 texts from Rothrock to the girl, saying he wanted to massage her and asking for photos of her exposed stomach, court records state.

Police said they also found thousands of child pornography images on Rothrock's computer.

In September, Rothrock pleaded guilty to five counts of possessing child pornography and one count of criminal solicitation.

Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius testified Friday that the victim and her mother are "extremely hurt, extremely angry" by Rothrock's actions.

"The bottom line is he's dangerous and he needs intensive treatment," Broscius said. "He had no remorse, no insight, no empathy for what happened."

In a pre-sentence report read aloud Friday by Baratta, Rothrock said he had been viewing child pornography for 20 years and didn't believe it was a crime unless he was selling or distributing the images.

He also told authorities he didn't believe pornographic images of children over the age of 10 were considered child pornography.

Baratta noted that Rothrock stopped going to sex offender treatments after Rothrock said he could no longer afford them.

Rothrock briefly addressed the court, saying he stopped paying for therapy because he needed to help pay his girlfriend's rent.